History Main / GlorySeeker

* ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam'''s Jerid Messa, who joined the [[StateSec Titans]] in order to become a famous AcePilot.
** Before Jerid, there was, like, 90% of the Principality of Zeon in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam''. Most of these pilots, soldiers, and commanders were nothing more than Glory Seekers who sought to one-up their actual Ace Pilots so ''they'' could be the heroes. However, this ended up ruining their chances for victory. The earliest you see this is in the ''very first episode''.

* ''LightNovel/RebuildWorld'': The [[PrivateMilitaryContractors hunter]] Katsuya has two general motivations: To [[ChronicHeroSyndrome save everyone he can]], and to gain recognition. The latter is spurred on by the bullying he receives from OldSoldier hunters like Shirakabe (whose criticism is often valid), also wanting young hunters as a whole to prove themselves. These two motivations cause Katsuya to be a FailureHero in a vicious cycle: Katsuya charges into battle, gets too preoccupied saving everyone he just got into danger to deal with the danger, multiple die, he gets more SurvivorGuilt from TheChainsOfCommanding, and the ArmChairMilitary bureaucrats praise him instead of correcting his incompetence so he can be their PropagandaHero. Meanwhile the HumbleHero Akira gets recognition from aforementioned veteran hunters making Katsuya TheResenter who disbelieves anything Akira says.

** A number of in-universe 'mechs have the reputation of being favoured by glory hogs, at least when said pilots volunteer to drive that 'mech instead of being assigned to it. The ''Hunchback II'' is the crowning example, being a medium-weight GlassCannon with almost no armouring but capable of an insane AlphaStrike damage of 80. It is almost exclusively driven by Clan ''solahma'' warriors seeking an HonorableWarriorsDeath or by YoungBlood looking for a DavidVersusGoliath scenario where [[TakingYouWithMe they get to kill or cripple a bigger, scarier 'mech]] before they have to eject from their own deathtrap.

* Itsuki of ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'' is constantly seeking praise in some form, most overtly when he falls into despair after [[spoiler:the Spirit Turtle incident]]. Raphtalia was enraged when she discovered Itsuki was purposefully holding back during fights so that he could jump in and save his companions the instant they were in danger.

* ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam'''s Jerid Messa, who joined the [[StateSec Titans]] in order to become famous AcePilot.

* ''LightNovel/RebuildWorld'': The [[PrivateMilitaryContractors hunter]] Katsuya has two general motivations: To [[ChronicHeroSyndrome save everyone he can]], and to gain recognition. The latter is spurred on by the bullying he receives from OldSoldier hunters like Shirakabe (which is often a case of JerkassHasAPoint), also wanting young hunters as a whole to prove themselves. These two motivations cause Katsuya to be a FailureHero in a ViciousCycle: Katsuya charges into battle, gets too preoccupied saving everyone he just got into danger to deal with the danger, multiple die, he gets more SurvivorGuilt from TheChainsOfCommanding, and the ArmChairMilitary bureaucrats praise him instead of correcting his incompetence so he can be their PropagandaHero. Meanwhile the HumbleHero Akira gets recognition from aforementioned veteran hunters making Katsuya TheResenter who disbelieves anything Akira says.

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'''s title character is like this, at least initially. He's a lonely boy, and he wants to become Hokage so the rest of the townsfolk will respect him.
* Asuka in most ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' continuities, often to the detriment of her own safety.

If the Glory Seeker has cohorts or helpers with them, they'll either be EasilyImpressed individuals who give the Glory Seeker a constant supply of praise, or {{Deadpan Snarker}}s who keep the Glory Seeker down to Earth by constantly mocking their boasting.

--> '''Prussia''': He will be the tasty snack before [[CardCarryingVillain my world-domination meal]]. This so-called 'army' Austria has put together would make my grandmother laugh like this: ha ha ha! You've grown soft, and now is the time for Prussia to RISE LIKE A [[{{Metaphorgotten}} MAGIC JACK IN THE BOX]]!

** Pier della Vigna is the first character that needs to be tempted by worldly fame to tell his life story, an ironic reality considering that Pier represents the souls who threw away their Earthly lives away by suicide. Pier uses his brief time to insist that he never committed treason or embezzlement and that he was only accused of such thing by those consumed by envy.

* Everyone in ''Literature/TheIliad''. The only exceptions being non-combatants.

* Manga/{{Naruto}} is like this, at least initially. He's a lonely boy, and he wants to become Hokage so the rest of the townsfolk will respect him.

* [[NationsAsPeople America]] of ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'' is this, in all of his JerkAss, LoveFreak glory.

From the crucible of battle are heroes born, in defeating the villainous enemy there is glory to be had, and that makes it all worthwhile. At least, that's what the Glory Seeker believes.

* Zuko from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' is a tragic example. He is attempting to hunt down and capture [[TheHero Aang]], the titular [[PhysicalGod Avatar]], in the hopes of gaining the glory to restore his honor and his [[AbusiveParents father's]] love.

** Before Jerid, there was, like, 90% of the Principality of Zeon in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam''. Most of these pilots, soldiers and commanders were nothing more than Glory Seekers who sought to one-up their actual Ace Pilots so ''they'' could be the heroes. However, this ended up ruining their chances for victory. The earliest you see this is in the ''very first episode''.

* Boromir in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' is this, and it is one of the reason he succumb to the Ring's temptation.
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'' - Many people who have no idea what kind of life Harry lived before coming to Hogwarts (or even some of the stuff that came after) tend to think he is one of these. Some (like Snape) think he is a bullying troublemaker like his father; some (such as the Ministry, the Daily Prophet and a number of citizens) think that he just wants glory and is an attention seeker. Some of his classmates even thought he was the heir of Slytherin, once. The truth is largely the opposite, as living with the Dursleys and a lot of the stuff he dealt with in the Wizarding World actually made him very humble and quiet (until he [[CharacterDevelopment continued to grow in self-confidence and ability]]).

* ''Literature/WonderWomanWarbringer'': Jason wants to start a huge war and bring back the time of heroes, just so he can get glory on the battle field.

** {{Space Marine}}s love this trope: they both tell the stories of their predecessors, and seek to be FamedInStory themselves.

** Skrimir from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'', as well. He is very hesitant about using any of these so-called "plans", and prefers to just rip his enemies to shreds. His stubborn glory-seeking was used in a BatmanGambit by the enemy, almost costing them the entire war. [[CharacterDevelopment He learns his lesson after this.]]

* ''[[VideoGame/SoulCalibur Soul Calibur II]]'': Yun Seong greatly admires Hwang and [[TheRival wants to be seen as his equal.]] So much so, that he challenged Hwang to a duel. However, Hwang realized Yun Seong's true motivation and refused to accept, believing it was childish of him. Despite this, Yun Seong remained undaunted to make Hwang acknowledge his talents somehow and eventually learned he had once gone in search of Soul Edge, but had returned empty handed. Thus, he believed that if he could succeed where Hwang had seemingly failed, he'd have no choice but to accept him as an equal... not knowing the truth of the matter[[note]]Soul Edge is [[ArtifactOfDoom an evil sword that consumes the body and mind of its host.]] When Hwang realized this, he came to understand that it wasn't 'the Sword of Salvation' as he'd been lead to believe. Therefore, he had tried (and failed) to destroy it.[[/note]]

** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', Edwinna Elbert, Stewardess of the Ald-Ruhn Mages Guild Hall, studies the LostTechnology of the extinct [[OurDwarvesAreDifferent Dwemer]]. During one of her quests, you can find a unique book which gives insights into Dwemer technology. If you show it to her, she implies that a major reason she studies the Dwemer is because she wants to build Dwemer [[MechaMooks centurions]] as she believes it will make her famous.

* The Aristocrat from ''WebComic/HeroOhHero'' is perfectly willing to take on some bandits troubling a town. However, after defeating one he's very quick to demand that they build a statue of him in the middle of town and even quicker to anger when [[http://www.neorice.com/hoh_101 it's pointed out that]] [[TheHero Burk]] is still fighting the bandit's (much more dangerous, [[CoolHorse acid spitting pig]]) mount.

** Many others, howeever, actively discourage this sort of thing; the line between this trope and GloryHound can be awfully fine, and Glory Hounds tend not to make good soldiers.

Usually some sort of military officer, but not necessarily so, he can be a crusading knight charging heedlessly into the fray, a lone desperado out to make a name for himself, a BountyHunter going after the toughtest targets. He may or may not enjoy the spoils of war, he may or may not believe in what he's fighting for, he may be a [[MilesGloriosus coward who is all talk]] or a BloodKnight who revels in the slaughter, but the defining trait of the Glory Seeker is that he craves the [[HundredPercentHeroismRating adoration of the masses]] and [[ItHasBeenAnHonor respect of his peers]] — and hates most of all [[DudeWheresMyRespect not being respected]]. He might grow disillusioned after a while, or he might never learn. If met out of combat, may appear to be the MilesGloriosus, but actual danger will reveal the truth.

* Armsmaster of ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' is this, being primarily interested in advancing his own career as a superhero instead of looking after his assigned SuperTeam. Later, he crosses the line into full-on GloryHound when [[spoiler:he sabotages the [[EnemyMine hero/villain truce]] against [[OmnicidalManiac Leviathan]] for a shot at personal glory.]]

** Near the end of ''Tenacious'', Kydd worries that he might be more of a reckless {{Glory Hound}} when one of the men under his command blames him for the death of a friend during [[Main/TheSiege the Siege]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Acre_(1799) of Acre]]. Luckily, he's soon heartened by [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments the admiration expressed for him]] in the letter the dead man wrote to his wife.

Usually some sort of military officer, but not necessarily so, he can be a crusading knight charging heedlessly into the fray, a lone desperado out to make a name for himself, a BountyHunter going after the toughtest targets. He may or may not enjoy the spoils of war, he may or may not believe in what he's fighting for, he may be a [[MilesGloriosus coward who is all talk]] or a BloodKnight who revels in the slaughter, but the defining trait of the Glory Seeker is that he craves the [[HundredPercentHeroismRating adoration of the masses]] and [[ItHasBeenAnHonor respect of his peers]] -- and hates most of all [[DudeWheresMyRespect not being respected]]. He might grow disillusioned after a while, or he might never learn. If met out of combat, may appear to be the MilesGloriosus, but actual danger will reveal the truth.

Will sometimes say ThinkNothingOfIt if he really didn't earn it -- but don't count on it. Frequently found with InHarmsWay. Loves FamedInStory, and finds WhatYouAreInTheDark and SecretTestOfCharacter particularly hard.

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* Every one in ''Literature/TheIliad''. The only exceptions being non-combatants.

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* In ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack'', [[spoiler: Sister Ingalls]] is in jail for indulging these tendencies, [[spoiler: and was excommunicated for it]].

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